Monday, 3 December 2012

Mars Rover: No Surprises w/1st Soil Test

CBS/AP/ December 3, 2012, 1:25 PM

Mars rover: No revelations in first soil test

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover documented itself in the context of its work site, an area called "Rocknest Wind Drift," on the 84th Martian day, or sol, of its mission (Oct. 31, 2012). The rover worked at this location from Sol 56 (Oct. 2, 2012) to Sol 100 (Nov. 16, 2012). /NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Mars rover Curiosity has completed its first chemical test of soil from the red planet, and scientists say there are no surprises so far.

The spacecraft is on a mission to look for ingredients in Martian soil and rocks that could support life. But in the first scoop of soil analyzed, there were no definitive signs of the chemical building blocks of life.

Instead, the six-wheel rover detected water and a mix of other chemicals.

The findings were reported Monday at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.